So this week was pretty cool. Not a ton of spectacular things
happened, but a few things did.
Starting out, last monday my companion and I went to go bowling at a
place out in Ballard Utah. It is free for missionaries and that was
nice. We played for about an hour and I bowled a 143. Which isn't
amazing but I got over 100 in each game we played. I'm no
professional. However, we did meet an older couple who was bowling
next to us and they were very nice. They looked like pretty good
bowlers. They were nice and they bought us dinner so that was appreciated
as well. I am always filled with joy when people extend such
generosity towards us. I know they are good people and it just makes
me happy.
So Monday evening we got dropped by our only real investigators...
Which was hard. So we are entirely teaching less actives at the moment
and we are looking for people wherever we go... it is just hard to
find people out here in the middle of almost no where. You can't
really just knock on doors because half of them are members already
and we wouldn't get anything done. But we will work past it and figure
out what we need to do in order to find people to teach.
We have had 3 baptisms last transfer and I feel like this area won't
be having any more for a little while. So we are going to focus on
getting those people to the temple as well as a few less active
members to the temple.
Honestly nothing super interesting happened this week. But on Saturday
we got to drive to Provo which is always a ton of fun! I like road
trips as a missionary, it is exciting. We drove down as a zone like we
usually do. The landscape is pretty bland until you get into the
canyon, but I really like the mountains and all of those features.
So yeah, we went to Provo because Elder Ballard of the quorum of the
12 apostles wanted to speak to the Utah Provo and Orem missions. It
was an incredible experience. As soon as Elder Ballard walked into the
room the spirit was present and I just felt overwhelmed with joy and
happiness. Now I understand what people mean when they talk about
those sorts of experiences.
Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke to us first and
he gave a really good talk. He talked about how "you decide" what to
do and how much light you have in your life. When Joseph smith was
asked to "hear him" we were all essentially asked to do the same. Not
literally but we must heed the words of Christ and his gospel. We
decide how much we "hear him" and what we are going to do. It made
sense to me and I guess it is up to me. Almost all the work is in my
hands and I have to be self motivated and rely on the spirit in order
to get work done.
Then Elder Ballard got up and introduced one of the Stake Presidents
for the 1st YSA stake in Provo. His name was President Holtzapfl. As
soon as he said the name, my heart jumped because I recognized that
name and truth be told, it cannot be that common. He used to be the
mission president in the Birmingham Alabama Mission a number of years
ago and I have met him before! He is the first person I have
seen/heard that I have recognized as someone I have met before my
mission. It was really cool! I remember that he gave a fireside for
the youth in our ward and he talked a lot about bible history, which
was really cool. And I think about 4 years ago I met him at the BYU v
Ole Miss game in Oxford Mississippi. It was so cool to see a familiar
face!!! He also spoke a little bit about President Hanks (the current
mission president) and that was cool too because I know him and I know
the Crowleys know him pretty well.
President Holtzapfl talked about working with leaders for missionary
work. More from the perspective of a Stake President. But he was an
incredible speaker especially because he was called out and spoke
without any prior notice.
Then Elder Ballard spoke to us. It was incredible. A lot of what he
focused on is the feelings that people have. He told us to remember
this for the rest of our lives and it will bless us - "It was what
people feel that causes them to move toward God; it is what people
feel in our presence that causes them to move toward God." And that
makes sense. Why would anyone change what they are doing unless it
feels right or good? The work we are doing is all about the people,
about individuals. At the conclusion of his talk he asked a blessing
upon us in the name of the the Lord as an apostle of Jesus Christ.
That was probably the coolest thing ever! I have never felt so lifted
up as I have at that moment. I love the church and the amazing church
leaders we have. They teach of Christ and it is just right. I am
thankful for the church and the blessings that come from living the
gospel.
After the meeting we went back home to roosevelt. We had to drive
through all the BYU traffic though because the BYU football game had
just ended! That made it somewhat difficult to get out of there.
So Sunday we had Stake conference. So this weekend was filled with
listening to church leaders and heeding their words. Elder Monk of the
Seventy came to speak to us and he gave a good talk.
That is the majority of what has happened to us this week. Hopefully
this week will be a bit more eventful but either way, what happens
happens. I hope each of you have had a wonderful week.
Remember that YOU decide how to live your life. You can fill it with
light and find joy and happiness that come from that or you can just
coast through life and not experience the blessings of the Lord. But I
testify that true joy comes from things that will bless us eternally:
family, obedience to the commandments, building upon our testimonies,
and things like that. As we live the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will
truly be blessed and we will be successful in this life as well as the
one to come.
I invite all of you who do not already do it to read the Book of
Mormon each and every day. It doesn't have to be a lot. But just like
we need physical nourishment, our spirits need to be fed by the words
of Christ. Scripture study, prayer, church attendance, temple
attendance, service and showing kindness are all ways to invite the
spirit into our lives. I hope each of you has the opportunity to do
those things.
I love each of you, and I hope you have a great week.
-Elder Pierce
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
This week was a big learning experience and a lot of changes!
So last Monday we found out that my companion Elder G would be
getting transferred. So Monday night and Tuesday we did a lot of
farewells for him. He got to say goodbye to the people we've been
teaching and a lot of nice families in the wards here.
Then Wednesday comes along and we drive down to Provo for our transfer
meeting. It was my first one so it was a bit strange. But it was cool
to see a couple of my old friends I had made as well as new
missionaries I hadn't met before.
What was pretty cool was to see all the new missionaries that arrived
this week. There were probably about 12 of them or so. It feels like
it was way more than 6 weeks ago that I was in their shoes.
Eventually it gets down the line and President called my name and my
new companion. I am now with Elder D. He is from Ireland and he
seems to be pretty cool so far. His name is pronounced like __.
But it sounds better if you say it with a bit of an accent.
Funny story actually. So at the end of each transfer, the missionaries
that are going to go home that transfer get to go with the President
and his wife to the Salt Lake Temple and to Tucanos. However, the next
transfer ends the day before Thanksgiving. So what they are going to
do is send those missionaries home a day or two early so that they can
be home for Thanksgiving. Elder D is 23 months out on his
mission and this is his last transfer, so he went to the temple on
Wednesday.
Apparently someone was supposed to tell me this so I could prepare to
do missionary work while he was gone to Salt Lake. SO! I got to go
with Elders S and C, they're the zone leaders for Provo
Canyon zone and they cover BYU campus. So most of wednesday afternoon
I was at BYU. It was really weird, because I have been there before
and it seemed normal to me. I was wondering if I would see anyone I
know, because I know a handful of students at BYU. I didn't see anyone
though, which is probably a good things but it would have been cool
either way.
Not to mention I probably saw more people during those few hours that
I was at BYU than I have seen during my entire mission. Let's just say
there aren't many people here in Myton/Roosevelt.
Eventually Elder D came back and we drove up to Roosevelt.
Speaking of driving, I am the designated driver now and so I get to
drive. It was a little bit difficult at first, because I wasn't sure
the directions to go or anything, but we figured it out. We stopped in
Heber City at the Dairy Keen there, I remember we went there when we
were in Utah a few summers ago for a family reunion or something. So
we got home around 8:30 as opposed to about 4:00 like I thought we
would.
Then things got interesting. Now that Elder G is gone (he had
been in this area for 6 months ), I am the one who knows things. Let
me just say that it is a lot more difficult to plan the week ahead of
you and the day ahead of you, with who you are going to teach and all
of that stuff than I thought it was. Thursday was a difficult day for
me... this whole week was really. I had gotten used to Elder G
and the way we did things. Now I have to decide almost everything and
where to go. Besides that, it is really difficult to remember where
people live or how to get places here. Most people don't have actual
addresses, it is more of "he lives over there behind the Jones'" or
"take a left turn at that one tree and then past all the corn fields
make a right turn and then his house is the one behind all the
others".
I have realized that I am supposed to learn something from this.
Because it is not easy at all. I do not know everything that I need to
be doing... I haven't even been completely trained yet! But things
happen for a reason... I just have to figure it out. So please keep me
in your prayers.
Oh on Saturday we went to provide service for this lady on her farm.
And I was helping her nail in a tin roof on a shed or something. There
was a wasp nest around us. Actually there were a lot of wasp nests. I
got stung on the ankle and so we decided to fight back. We sprayed and
destroyed all the wasps we found, probably a couple hundred. Then we
got back to work and it was a good morning experience. I forgot how
much a wasp sting can hurt, this is the second time it has ever
happened to me. But after about 30 minutes I forgot all about it.
Sunday was a pretty good day. We went into ward council with hardly
anything to say... which was unusual for me. The people we have been
teaching either aren't making any progress or we just baptized them
and mostly don't have a lot of need for the missionaries anymore.
Essentially we are running out of people to teach. We teach less
active members still but... I much prefer teaching investigators who
really want the gospel to bless their lives.
So after church, B__, who was baptized on the 26th of September got
sustained to hold the Aaronic priesthood. Guess who got to ordain him.
I did :)! It was my first time giving someone the priesthood before...
It was a really cool experience and I felt the spirit very strongly. I
like the feeling you get when you give blessings and things. It is
something special that is hard to explain. But afterward, the bishop
said I did a great job and he was surprised because I told him that I
had never done it before. So that was a really cool experience
At correlation we sat down and made some plans with our Ward mission
leaders to get some work done. I am very thankful for their help and
the guidance they gave us. Because now I feel like we actually have
some stuff to do.
******Oh, I forgot to mention. At the transfer meeting on Wednesday,
President Hodgman told us that on October 24th we would be having a
special meeting in Provo. He said "now we want you all to be in your
seats by 1:30 and when Elder Ballard walks in you need to remain
reverent." or something like that. He very nonchalantly told us that
we were going to get to listen to Elder Ballard this saturday! So that
will be really cool! Also it means we get to drive to Provo which is
always fun. Civilization again!
One of our less active members that we teach named K__ bought Elder
D and I a gift. He gave us Salt Guns. Yup, guns that shoot salt,
and their pretty cool. Haha I thought it was hilarious at first, but
apparently their meant to shoot flies and bugs and it will kill them.
They work really well! So say goodbye to fly swatters because these
things are actually fun. I am looking forward to salt wars in our
spare time. Haha just kidding. maybe. :)
Spiritual Thought: 3 Nephi 13:31-34 .
This scripture is awesome. And it even says it in a few other places
in the scriptures. But Heavenly Father knows our needs. He is
omniscient remember? Which means "ALL knowing". Of course he is aware
of our needs and the things that we need. If we first "seek ye the
kingdom of God" then he will bless us with the things we need.
Priority #1 is spiritual things and the kingdom of God. If we
earnestly and diligently seek after those things then riches and
worldly desires will be added unto us. You can also look in Jacob
Chapter 2:18-19
That about sums up this week. I would love to hear from all of you, it
helps me keep going. Thanks for all the support
I love you :)
-Elder Pierce
So last Monday we found out that my companion Elder G would be
getting transferred. So Monday night and Tuesday we did a lot of
farewells for him. He got to say goodbye to the people we've been
teaching and a lot of nice families in the wards here.
Then Wednesday comes along and we drive down to Provo for our transfer
meeting. It was my first one so it was a bit strange. But it was cool
to see a couple of my old friends I had made as well as new
missionaries I hadn't met before.
What was pretty cool was to see all the new missionaries that arrived
this week. There were probably about 12 of them or so. It feels like
it was way more than 6 weeks ago that I was in their shoes.
Eventually it gets down the line and President called my name and my
new companion. I am now with Elder D. He is from Ireland and he
seems to be pretty cool so far. His name is pronounced like __.
But it sounds better if you say it with a bit of an accent.
Funny story actually. So at the end of each transfer, the missionaries
that are going to go home that transfer get to go with the President
and his wife to the Salt Lake Temple and to Tucanos. However, the next
transfer ends the day before Thanksgiving. So what they are going to
do is send those missionaries home a day or two early so that they can
be home for Thanksgiving. Elder D is 23 months out on his
mission and this is his last transfer, so he went to the temple on
Wednesday.
Apparently someone was supposed to tell me this so I could prepare to
do missionary work while he was gone to Salt Lake. SO! I got to go
with Elders S and C, they're the zone leaders for Provo
Canyon zone and they cover BYU campus. So most of wednesday afternoon
I was at BYU. It was really weird, because I have been there before
and it seemed normal to me. I was wondering if I would see anyone I
know, because I know a handful of students at BYU. I didn't see anyone
though, which is probably a good things but it would have been cool
either way.
Not to mention I probably saw more people during those few hours that
I was at BYU than I have seen during my entire mission. Let's just say
there aren't many people here in Myton/Roosevelt.
Eventually Elder D came back and we drove up to Roosevelt.
Speaking of driving, I am the designated driver now and so I get to
drive. It was a little bit difficult at first, because I wasn't sure
the directions to go or anything, but we figured it out. We stopped in
Heber City at the Dairy Keen there, I remember we went there when we
were in Utah a few summers ago for a family reunion or something. So
we got home around 8:30 as opposed to about 4:00 like I thought we
would.
Then things got interesting. Now that Elder G is gone (he had
been in this area for 6 months ), I am the one who knows things. Let
me just say that it is a lot more difficult to plan the week ahead of
you and the day ahead of you, with who you are going to teach and all
of that stuff than I thought it was. Thursday was a difficult day for
me... this whole week was really. I had gotten used to Elder G
and the way we did things. Now I have to decide almost everything and
where to go. Besides that, it is really difficult to remember where
people live or how to get places here. Most people don't have actual
addresses, it is more of "he lives over there behind the Jones'" or
"take a left turn at that one tree and then past all the corn fields
make a right turn and then his house is the one behind all the
others".
I have realized that I am supposed to learn something from this.
Because it is not easy at all. I do not know everything that I need to
be doing... I haven't even been completely trained yet! But things
happen for a reason... I just have to figure it out. So please keep me
in your prayers.
Oh on Saturday we went to provide service for this lady on her farm.
And I was helping her nail in a tin roof on a shed or something. There
was a wasp nest around us. Actually there were a lot of wasp nests. I
got stung on the ankle and so we decided to fight back. We sprayed and
destroyed all the wasps we found, probably a couple hundred. Then we
got back to work and it was a good morning experience. I forgot how
much a wasp sting can hurt, this is the second time it has ever
happened to me. But after about 30 minutes I forgot all about it.
Sunday was a pretty good day. We went into ward council with hardly
anything to say... which was unusual for me. The people we have been
teaching either aren't making any progress or we just baptized them
and mostly don't have a lot of need for the missionaries anymore.
Essentially we are running out of people to teach. We teach less
active members still but... I much prefer teaching investigators who
really want the gospel to bless their lives.
So after church, B__, who was baptized on the 26th of September got
sustained to hold the Aaronic priesthood. Guess who got to ordain him.
I did :)! It was my first time giving someone the priesthood before...
It was a really cool experience and I felt the spirit very strongly. I
like the feeling you get when you give blessings and things. It is
something special that is hard to explain. But afterward, the bishop
said I did a great job and he was surprised because I told him that I
had never done it before. So that was a really cool experience
At correlation we sat down and made some plans with our Ward mission
leaders to get some work done. I am very thankful for their help and
the guidance they gave us. Because now I feel like we actually have
some stuff to do.
******Oh, I forgot to mention. At the transfer meeting on Wednesday,
President Hodgman told us that on October 24th we would be having a
special meeting in Provo. He said "now we want you all to be in your
seats by 1:30 and when Elder Ballard walks in you need to remain
reverent." or something like that. He very nonchalantly told us that
we were going to get to listen to Elder Ballard this saturday! So that
will be really cool! Also it means we get to drive to Provo which is
always fun. Civilization again!
One of our less active members that we teach named K__ bought Elder
D and I a gift. He gave us Salt Guns. Yup, guns that shoot salt,
and their pretty cool. Haha I thought it was hilarious at first, but
apparently their meant to shoot flies and bugs and it will kill them.
They work really well! So say goodbye to fly swatters because these
things are actually fun. I am looking forward to salt wars in our
spare time. Haha just kidding. maybe. :)
Spiritual Thought: 3 Nephi 13:31-34 .
This scripture is awesome. And it even says it in a few other places
in the scriptures. But Heavenly Father knows our needs. He is
omniscient remember? Which means "ALL knowing". Of course he is aware
of our needs and the things that we need. If we first "seek ye the
kingdom of God" then he will bless us with the things we need.
Priority #1 is spiritual things and the kingdom of God. If we
earnestly and diligently seek after those things then riches and
worldly desires will be added unto us. You can also look in Jacob
Chapter 2:18-19
That about sums up this week. I would love to hear from all of you, it
helps me keep going. Thanks for all the support
I love you :)
-Elder Pierce
Monday, October 12, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015, Columbus Day
So! First things first. We got a phone call at 7:30 this morning from
President H. And Elder G is going to be serving as a
Zone Leader in Price! We are both super sad cuz we love it here and we
wanted to stick together. But oh well, he's going to enjoy his
leadership position as well as the arches down in Moab.
So I will be going to Provo on Wednesday morning to get a new
companion. I just hope he is cool and that we can get along!
So this week has been super busy and super crazy! On sunday I was in
the Zone leaders area because Elder G got to go to General
Conference.
Monday we had a district activity which was a lot of fun :). It was
cool having the district leader as my companion because I got the
inside scoop of what is going on and I got to help him out.
So on tuesday night Elder G had to go to Provo for a special
meeting that had select missionaries chosen for it. So Tuesday night I
ended up in the Zone Leaders area again, but this time I was in a
trio. It was pretty cool and kinda weird to be with two other
missionaries. It was definitely interesting. But Wednesday night I
went with my Branch Mission Leader to teach some lessons in Randlett.
It was a good experience.
Then we met up at about 8:45 with the other Elders that went to Provo.
And they brought back a package from home for me! Thank you Papa, Dad, Mom,
Molly, Grandma Linda, and anyone else who helped with that. I really
appreciate all the stuff I got. Now I have a few auburn shirts that I
really like and people can recognize I'm not as much of a Tide fan.
(Although, I am from Alabama so I guess it is okay to root for them as
long as they aren't playing BYU or Auburn).
THEN! Thursday Morning I went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders
because they are supposed to do exchanges with district leaders. So,
all in all, I was out of my area for a good portion of the week.
As far as service goes, while I was in the zone leaders area we helped
a man put posts in the ground and fill holes with cement so that he
can build a car port.
And on Saturday we had a fun experience with the R family. S____
who is about 22 needed help with his goats and we volunteered to help
him out. So we went to a big field and herded the goats into a big
horse trailer and then transported them to a corral. We then got the
opportunity to wrestle some goats and that was a lot of fun! We were
tagging them, so kind of like piercing their ears so you can identify
them. We would grab a goat and then grab it by the horns (if they had
any) then drag them over and stab a tag through its ear. Goats like to
scream and it is pretty funny. We had a lot of fun working with them,
and I am pretty sure Sister R took some pictures that I will
hopefully get from her sometime and then I will share them with you.
At one point a goat stabbed my finger with its horn, and I started
bleeding. It was cool, but didn't stop me. So we finished that up.
Saturday seemed like Thanksgiving or something. We ate breakfast
before we went to do service. Afterward we went to a member's home and
they fed us a breakfast at about 10:30. it was REALLY good, just
biscuits, gravy, lots of bacon, and eggs. Then immediately after that
we had to go to a lunch appointment we had with another member. They
cooked us Antelope and Elk because we'd never had it before. Elk was
really good and Antelope wasn't too bad either! I don't really now how
to describe either, but it was good. Also for dessert we had...
Avocado Pie. It was WEIRD but it tasted really good. I never would
have guessed.
So after we forced down a ton of food again, we went to take care of
some lessons. Then we had a baptism on Saturday night at about 5:00.
It was great and we taught the Restoration while the baptisee and the
baptiser were changing clothes. It was awesome.
So after the baptism we were invited to eat at the Frontier Grill
which is one of the few restaurants around here. So we ate even more
food.... Elder G and I were sick by the end of it, haha.
That about sums up the notable events of this week. I am looking
forward to a new companion even though I wouldn't have chosen it. I
hope he is a great Elder and that we will have a lot of fun together.
Spiritual Thought: On saturday I could feel the spirit from giving the
lesson of the restoration so strongly. I love the gospel so much and I
am thankful for Eternal Families.
So I can't remember if I mentioned this last week but I really liked
the conference talk where the guy said faith comes by choice, not by
chance. I think that is so true. We wont just develop faith if we do
not try. Along with that another favorite thing I heard was from the
talk "What Lack I Yet?" when he said "to [God] our direction is ever
more important than our speed". So as long as we are developing faith
by making actions, like reading scriptures, saying prayers, going to
church or simple things like that then Heavenly Father will be happy.
As long as we are moving in the right direction and exercising our
faith then we will progress. Like it says in Alma 37:6-7 by small and
simple things are great things brought to pass. If you do not read the
Book of Mormon everyday then I would encourage you to do so. I know it
can and will bless your life!
I love all of you, I hope you have a good week!
-Elder Pierce
President H. And Elder G is going to be serving as a
Zone Leader in Price! We are both super sad cuz we love it here and we
wanted to stick together. But oh well, he's going to enjoy his
leadership position as well as the arches down in Moab.
So I will be going to Provo on Wednesday morning to get a new
companion. I just hope he is cool and that we can get along!
So this week has been super busy and super crazy! On sunday I was in
the Zone leaders area because Elder G got to go to General
Conference.
Monday we had a district activity which was a lot of fun :). It was
cool having the district leader as my companion because I got the
inside scoop of what is going on and I got to help him out.
So on tuesday night Elder G had to go to Provo for a special
meeting that had select missionaries chosen for it. So Tuesday night I
ended up in the Zone Leaders area again, but this time I was in a
trio. It was pretty cool and kinda weird to be with two other
missionaries. It was definitely interesting. But Wednesday night I
went with my Branch Mission Leader to teach some lessons in Randlett.
It was a good experience.
Then we met up at about 8:45 with the other Elders that went to Provo.
And they brought back a package from home for me! Thank you Papa, Dad, Mom,
Molly, Grandma Linda, and anyone else who helped with that. I really
appreciate all the stuff I got. Now I have a few auburn shirts that I
really like and people can recognize I'm not as much of a Tide fan.
(Although, I am from Alabama so I guess it is okay to root for them as
long as they aren't playing BYU or Auburn).
THEN! Thursday Morning I went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders
because they are supposed to do exchanges with district leaders. So,
all in all, I was out of my area for a good portion of the week.
As far as service goes, while I was in the zone leaders area we helped
a man put posts in the ground and fill holes with cement so that he
can build a car port.
And on Saturday we had a fun experience with the R family. S____
who is about 22 needed help with his goats and we volunteered to help
him out. So we went to a big field and herded the goats into a big
horse trailer and then transported them to a corral. We then got the
opportunity to wrestle some goats and that was a lot of fun! We were
tagging them, so kind of like piercing their ears so you can identify
them. We would grab a goat and then grab it by the horns (if they had
any) then drag them over and stab a tag through its ear. Goats like to
scream and it is pretty funny. We had a lot of fun working with them,
and I am pretty sure Sister R took some pictures that I will
hopefully get from her sometime and then I will share them with you.
At one point a goat stabbed my finger with its horn, and I started
bleeding. It was cool, but didn't stop me. So we finished that up.
Saturday seemed like Thanksgiving or something. We ate breakfast
before we went to do service. Afterward we went to a member's home and
they fed us a breakfast at about 10:30. it was REALLY good, just
biscuits, gravy, lots of bacon, and eggs. Then immediately after that
we had to go to a lunch appointment we had with another member. They
cooked us Antelope and Elk because we'd never had it before. Elk was
really good and Antelope wasn't too bad either! I don't really now how
to describe either, but it was good. Also for dessert we had...
Avocado Pie. It was WEIRD but it tasted really good. I never would
have guessed.
So after we forced down a ton of food again, we went to take care of
some lessons. Then we had a baptism on Saturday night at about 5:00.
It was great and we taught the Restoration while the baptisee and the
baptiser were changing clothes. It was awesome.
So after the baptism we were invited to eat at the Frontier Grill
which is one of the few restaurants around here. So we ate even more
food.... Elder G and I were sick by the end of it, haha.
That about sums up the notable events of this week. I am looking
forward to a new companion even though I wouldn't have chosen it. I
hope he is a great Elder and that we will have a lot of fun together.
Spiritual Thought: On saturday I could feel the spirit from giving the
lesson of the restoration so strongly. I love the gospel so much and I
am thankful for Eternal Families.
So I can't remember if I mentioned this last week but I really liked
the conference talk where the guy said faith comes by choice, not by
chance. I think that is so true. We wont just develop faith if we do
not try. Along with that another favorite thing I heard was from the
talk "What Lack I Yet?" when he said "to [God] our direction is ever
more important than our speed". So as long as we are developing faith
by making actions, like reading scriptures, saying prayers, going to
church or simple things like that then Heavenly Father will be happy.
As long as we are moving in the right direction and exercising our
faith then we will progress. Like it says in Alma 37:6-7 by small and
simple things are great things brought to pass. If you do not read the
Book of Mormon everyday then I would encourage you to do so. I know it
can and will bless your life!
I love all of you, I hope you have a good week!
-Elder Pierce
Monday, October 5, 2015
Photos through Oct 5, 2015
"A Member had these adorable puppies.
This one is a shitzu and a poodle breed."
"52 chickens line up to get cooked"
"There is the lamb:"
"That thing was very heavy."
Monday, October 5, 2015
This week was a great one! I hope each of you had the opportunity to
listen to general conference this weekend, I learned a lot from it.
But Elder Hales once said that we learn more after conference is over
when we can look over the talks and study them.
So on Monday I had the unique opportunity to play paintball :D! It was
amazing. So paintball used to be allowed, then a sister took her mask
off and got shot in the face so it got outlawed. THEN we got a new
mission president and he said it's okay to play paintball.
So Elder G and I drove up to Altamont and met up with another
pair of elders and some members. All in all there were 8 of us. So we
had a great time gettin muddy and playing games. It was a good stress
reliever. By the way my team won most of the games. And no mom, I
didn't get hurt, I'm fine :).
So overall, this week was a much slower week as far as lessons go but
we spent a good amount of time finding people to teach. On Tuesday
Myton had a community BBQ. We had the opportunity to help them prepare
the food and everything! We rotisserie cooked 52 chickens and a lamb.
It was pretty cool, I'll send pictures as well.
The chicken tasted pretty awesome, we must be pretty good cooks or something.
What's cool is that when we were lighting the charcoals, one of the
members had a propane flamethrower that we got to use. That was a lot
of fun :)
So Tuesday consisted of service and then a bbq where we got to
strengthen some members, and less active families. It was a good day.
Wednesday, yet another good day. We got to go and do service for
Sister H again. This time she had us hauling hay, which I've
never actually done before but we learned quickly. She had baled her
hay into about 75-115 pound squares and we hauled it onto her trailer
as she drove by. It was a lot of fun and now I know why farm boys are
stereotypically in such good shape. Afterward we went to our Branch
Mission Leaders home and worked out during our lunch hour. We usually
do that on Wednesdays. So hopefully I can stay in shape at least a
little bit.
So Randlett is pretty slow these days and we've been trying to find
people to teach, people who actually want to make changes in their
lives. So we went tracting! It was Elder G's first time as
well as mine, only he's been on his mission for 20 months. Our BML was
there with us to help out (he actually served in the same mission that
Bradley is in right now, and he was there about 6 years ago). We found
2 new investigators! So it wasn't all in vain. Every door we knocked
on was opened by an Indian. I'm not really used to that but the Ute
tribe is very big out here. So I hope we can help these people out.
Thursday was a very busy day, we taught 7 lessons and they were great.
But honestly that's about it, I don't remember anything special about
Thursday.
Friday, guess what!? We had another BBQ to help with. This time
Randlett was having a BBQ and they needed our help. So we helped them
skewer and cook 30 chickens. These were even better!
Brother R (R____ out here are more prevalent than Norris/Giles
back home) had us help him out. And while we were cooking the chickens
he showed us some of his hunting things. He's got a 6 foot stuffed
bear in his living room that he's killed along with a bobcat, a
cougar, and a couple of other things. He got a 6 point buck when he
went hunting this year and the antlers were really cool. By the way I
don't know how they identify points back home but I know in the
eastern US they might call this 6 point a 12 point. But it was 6
points on each side. Anyway...
We had a great week leading up to general conference and like I said
earlier I hope each and every one of you got to listen to the sessions
somehow. If you didn't! Then you can always go to lds.org and watch it
again.
We got to watch conference in members' homes on Saturday and Sunday.
It was really nice and I ate way too much food. Because we'd eat lunch
at one home, and then go to the next and they'd have food for us. It
was good.
The real important thing though is what was said at conference. I
really liked hearing about how if we feel like the gospel isn't
working out for us, then we need to simplify things and focus on the
basics.
I can't remember the exact quote and I think it was Elder Lawrence of the
seventy in the Saturday morning session that said something about "the
direction we are heading is always more important than our speed". And
I really like that because no matter how fast you're going, as long as
you're moving in the right direction then you can't go wrong.
Sometimes we look at the gospel as a very complicated gospel. However,
it's quite simple when you look at it. Sure you can go in depth, but
we don't always need to. If you ever have doubts, continue to read
your scriptures daily. Rely on the savior and his atonement for us.
Faith in Jesus Christ is probably the most important thing we can
have.
I think in the Saturday afternoon I heard someone say "I raised my
children on faith, not money".
Elder Hales' talk was a good one in my opinion. There were a lot of
good ones. I hope each female got to hear President Nelson's talk
yesterday about covenant keeping women.
Each of the new apostles' testimonies were outstanding and I think
they will be excellent apostles.
I hope everyone had something that stuck out to them at conference, if
you didn't then go back and read the talks looking for an answer to a
specific question. As we are more specific in our asking and
searching, the more specific of an answer we will receive.
Let me know if you had any favorite talks or parts of conference, I'd
be glad to hear them.
So this week I was studying and I noticed something that many of you
may have already known. But I thought it was worth mentioning.
So in Mosiah 2:20-24 it talks about how we are all indebted to our
Heavenly Father. There is nothing we can do to repay him for giving us
life. Yet, all he asks of us is to keep his commandments. That's not
very much to ask of us considering everything he has given us.
Then in Matthew 22:37 it says the great commandment is to love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind.
Relate that verse to John 14:15 "if ye love me, keep my commandments"
SO! Essentially I thought it was interesting that the great
commandment is to obey the commandments. Because if we love our God
then we will obey him.
Keep the commandments and I know the lord will bless us. It says as we
are righteous then the lord will prosper us in the land.
-Elder Pierce
listen to general conference this weekend, I learned a lot from it.
But Elder Hales once said that we learn more after conference is over
when we can look over the talks and study them.
So on Monday I had the unique opportunity to play paintball :D! It was
amazing. So paintball used to be allowed, then a sister took her mask
off and got shot in the face so it got outlawed. THEN we got a new
mission president and he said it's okay to play paintball.
So Elder G and I drove up to Altamont and met up with another
pair of elders and some members. All in all there were 8 of us. So we
had a great time gettin muddy and playing games. It was a good stress
reliever. By the way my team won most of the games. And no mom, I
didn't get hurt, I'm fine :).
So overall, this week was a much slower week as far as lessons go but
we spent a good amount of time finding people to teach. On Tuesday
Myton had a community BBQ. We had the opportunity to help them prepare
the food and everything! We rotisserie cooked 52 chickens and a lamb.
It was pretty cool, I'll send pictures as well.
The chicken tasted pretty awesome, we must be pretty good cooks or something.
What's cool is that when we were lighting the charcoals, one of the
members had a propane flamethrower that we got to use. That was a lot
of fun :)
So Tuesday consisted of service and then a bbq where we got to
strengthen some members, and less active families. It was a good day.
Wednesday, yet another good day. We got to go and do service for
Sister H again. This time she had us hauling hay, which I've
never actually done before but we learned quickly. She had baled her
hay into about 75-115 pound squares and we hauled it onto her trailer
as she drove by. It was a lot of fun and now I know why farm boys are
stereotypically in such good shape. Afterward we went to our Branch
Mission Leaders home and worked out during our lunch hour. We usually
do that on Wednesdays. So hopefully I can stay in shape at least a
little bit.
So Randlett is pretty slow these days and we've been trying to find
people to teach, people who actually want to make changes in their
lives. So we went tracting! It was Elder G's first time as
well as mine, only he's been on his mission for 20 months. Our BML was
there with us to help out (he actually served in the same mission that
Bradley is in right now, and he was there about 6 years ago). We found
2 new investigators! So it wasn't all in vain. Every door we knocked
on was opened by an Indian. I'm not really used to that but the Ute
tribe is very big out here. So I hope we can help these people out.
Thursday was a very busy day, we taught 7 lessons and they were great.
But honestly that's about it, I don't remember anything special about
Thursday.
Friday, guess what!? We had another BBQ to help with. This time
Randlett was having a BBQ and they needed our help. So we helped them
skewer and cook 30 chickens. These were even better!
Brother R (R____ out here are more prevalent than Norris/Giles
back home) had us help him out. And while we were cooking the chickens
he showed us some of his hunting things. He's got a 6 foot stuffed
bear in his living room that he's killed along with a bobcat, a
cougar, and a couple of other things. He got a 6 point buck when he
went hunting this year and the antlers were really cool. By the way I
don't know how they identify points back home but I know in the
eastern US they might call this 6 point a 12 point. But it was 6
points on each side. Anyway...
We had a great week leading up to general conference and like I said
earlier I hope each and every one of you got to listen to the sessions
somehow. If you didn't! Then you can always go to lds.org and watch it
again.
We got to watch conference in members' homes on Saturday and Sunday.
It was really nice and I ate way too much food. Because we'd eat lunch
at one home, and then go to the next and they'd have food for us. It
was good.
The real important thing though is what was said at conference. I
really liked hearing about how if we feel like the gospel isn't
working out for us, then we need to simplify things and focus on the
basics.
I can't remember the exact quote and I think it was Elder Lawrence of the
seventy in the Saturday morning session that said something about "the
direction we are heading is always more important than our speed". And
I really like that because no matter how fast you're going, as long as
you're moving in the right direction then you can't go wrong.
Sometimes we look at the gospel as a very complicated gospel. However,
it's quite simple when you look at it. Sure you can go in depth, but
we don't always need to. If you ever have doubts, continue to read
your scriptures daily. Rely on the savior and his atonement for us.
Faith in Jesus Christ is probably the most important thing we can
have.
I think in the Saturday afternoon I heard someone say "I raised my
children on faith, not money".
Elder Hales' talk was a good one in my opinion. There were a lot of
good ones. I hope each female got to hear President Nelson's talk
yesterday about covenant keeping women.
Each of the new apostles' testimonies were outstanding and I think
they will be excellent apostles.
I hope everyone had something that stuck out to them at conference, if
you didn't then go back and read the talks looking for an answer to a
specific question. As we are more specific in our asking and
searching, the more specific of an answer we will receive.
Let me know if you had any favorite talks or parts of conference, I'd
be glad to hear them.
So this week I was studying and I noticed something that many of you
may have already known. But I thought it was worth mentioning.
So in Mosiah 2:20-24 it talks about how we are all indebted to our
Heavenly Father. There is nothing we can do to repay him for giving us
life. Yet, all he asks of us is to keep his commandments. That's not
very much to ask of us considering everything he has given us.
Then in Matthew 22:37 it says the great commandment is to love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind.
Relate that verse to John 14:15 "if ye love me, keep my commandments"
SO! Essentially I thought it was interesting that the great
commandment is to obey the commandments. Because if we love our God
then we will obey him.
Keep the commandments and I know the lord will bless us. It says as we
are righteous then the lord will prosper us in the land.
-Elder Pierce
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